gun control

This week, Enbridge Energy reported the protective coating has worn off of it's Line 5 pipeline in more spots than previously revealed. Line 5 is the oil and gas pipeline that runs under the straits of Mackinac. The new report says there were 8 spots of bare metal and seven of them will be repaired before winter sets in. A state commission has called Enbridge to testify next month.

This Las Vegas massacre has revived the outcry against the presence of certain guns in this country. These calls for tightening gun laws, or banning the bump stock that converts a rifle into an automatic weapon, are focused on Congress.

But there won't be much of an outcry in Lansing, beyond a few tweets.

That's because the gun control side lost Michigan more than 16 years ago, according toZach Gorchow, editor of Gongwer News Service.

Gunman Stephen Paddock packed at least 10 suitcases with guns and ammo to a suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. From there he opened fire on people attending a country music concert, killing 59 people and injuring nearly 530.

A man who was once hospitalized for depression cannot legally buy a gun in Michigan – at least not without a court fight. That’s the decision handed down recently by a federal appeals court.

Michigan resident Clifford Tyler was turned away by a gun dealer after a background check revealed his history of being hospitalized for depression. Tyler is 74, and his hospitalization was more than 30 years ago following a divorce. Tyler says he has not had any mental health issues since.

Michigan lawmakers returning for the fall session today were greeted by a "die-in" outside the state Capitol.

The protest was organized by the Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.

According to Linda Brundage, executive director of the Coalition, the goal of the "die-in" was to draw attention to the 91 people killed by guns each day in the U.S., and to highlight inaction by state lawmakers on bills to reduce gun violence.

"There is very good legislation languishing in the Judiciary Committee eliminating open carry in our schools and libraries," said Brundage.

Few things are as polarizing in American society as the debate between gun control and gun rights activists. These arguments often play out in national and state legislatures, with many gun control advocates feeling the National Rifle Association has undue influence over politicians. Join Michigan Radio’s Vincent Duffy as he hosts this panel discussion on the role that guns play in politics and elections.

Earlier today, House Democrats ended their 25-hour sit-in on the house floor.

Led by U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, revered for his role in the civil rights movement, Democrats demanded votes on gun control issues such as universal background checks and blocking gun sales to anyone on a no-fly list.

The protest drew a range of reactions from their colleagues and constituents.

Of the hundreds of legislators who spoke as they occupied the House chamber last night in a historic sit-in to protest Congressional inaction on gun control, it may have been the words of Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., that made the biggest impact.

"I lived in a house with a man who should not have had access to a gun," Dingell said in a passionate address delivered at roughly 12:25 a.m.

Five Democratic Michigan representatives are participating in a sit-in aimed at closing what they call the 'terror loophole.' They propose closing the loophole with what they call the #NoFlyNoBuy law. It would make it more difficult for those specifically on the FBI's no-fly list to buy guns.

John Hoadley says he doesn't want people in Michigan trying what he's seen people do in YouTube videos: mount a remote-controlled gun on a drone, and fly it.

"When we think about the fact that these drones are now potentially flying over our homes or schools where our kids or neighbors are," says the Democratic state representative from Kalamazoo, "it's appropriate to have a framework that says, while there are very cool pieces of this new technology, it would be inappropriate to have flying guns in the state of Michigan."

Michigan U.S. Senator Gary Peters says now’s the time “to act on guns”.

Peters and his fellow Democrats get their long-sought votes on gun control after the massacre in Orlando, Florida, but election-year politics ensure no changes in the nation's laws.

Democrats are expected to vote tonight to block two Republican amendments, saying they don't do enough. Republicans are expected to block two Democratic amendments, saying they threaten the rights of gun owners.

Senator Gary Peters, D-Mich., took the Senate floor on Wednesday as part of a Democratic filibuster meant to draw attention to gun control issues in the wake of Sunday's mass shooting in Orlando, in which 49 people at a gay nightclub were killed by a gunman using a legally purchased assault rifle.

Michigan has very minimal requirements for gun sales. But you need to get a permit before buying a pistol, and there are a few people who aren’t allowed a license, mainly those with a possibly dangerous mental illness or a criminal conviction.

State Representative Robert Wittenberg, D-Oak Park, introduced a bill last week that seems pure common sense. He wants to require gun licensing agencies to notify police and prosecutors when someone applies and fails the background check.

Police could be notified if you try to buy a gun and fail a background check.

That's if a bill introduced in the Michigan State House today passes. The bill, introduced by Rep. Robert Wittenberg, D-Oak Park, would require gun sellers to contact state, local, and federal authorities if a person fails a background check when trying to buy a firearm.

Detroit police chief James Craig said the casualties following the terrorist attacks in Paris — resulting in more than 100 deaths — would not have occurred had the citizens been armed.

"A lot of Detroiters have (concealed pistol licenses), and the same rules apply to terrorists as they do to some gun-toting thug," Chief James Craig told The Detroit News. "If you're a terrorist, or a carjacker, you want unarmed citizens."

Today marks a significant historical anniversary that is likely to go largely unnoticed. World War II really began 75 years ago today, when Great Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany for attacking Poland.

For the next six years, humans violently murdered each other at the rate of about 10 million a year.

This anniversary is likely to get little notice because so much else is going on – and because historians are busy commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I.

Now here is a little Michigan news story that isn’t likely to get much notice either. According to Livingston County police, a 69-year-old man was driving a pickup truck yesterday afternoon, when he passed a 43-year-old man driving a smaller vehicle.

They then both were stopped at a traffic light. The younger man got out of his car and approached the truck. And the truck driver shot him to death. Police say they were both from Howell, but didn’t know each other, that this was just a case of road rage.